


Would Smell as Sweet

by fallingintodivinity



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Set during Graves and Newt's school years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingintodivinity/pseuds/fallingintodivinity
Summary: Ilvermorny exchange student and Potions teaching assistant Percival Graves heads down to the Hogwarts dungeons to drop off the First Year essays he’s graded. Meanwhile, Newt Scamander is serving detention for a mishap in Potions Class.





	Would Smell as Sweet

  

  

Stack of graded First Year essays in hand, Percival Graves takes his usual route down to the Hogwarts dungeons – familiar now after four months of being at Hogwarts as an exchange student and two months of being Professor Viridian’s teaching assistant. He knocks on the Potions Professor’s office door and waits for permission to enter, then pushes the door open. The sweet scent of apples wafts out.

“Baking apple pie, Professor?” Percival says, poking his head around the door. “Smells delicious.”

As he steps fully into the office, he realizes that the Professor’s not alone.

“Ah,” he says, startled.

At the small workstation at one side of Professor Viridian’s immaculately neat office, Newt Scamander is carefully stirring something in a cauldron over a small flame.

When Percival had arrived at Hogwarts to start his exchange program, he’d been assigned to Gryffindor House for the semester, and had become close friends with his dorm-mate, Theseus Scamander. Theseus had, in turn, introduced Percival to his little brother, Newt, and Percival had been immediately charmed by the shy Hufflepuff with the messy curls and sweet smile. They’d started spending more time with each other lately, studying together and spending the occasional Hogsmeade weekend together.

Newt looks up in surprise as Percival enters the office.

“Hello, Newt,” says Percival, pushing the door shut behind him. “It smells like that apple shampoo you use in here.”

Newt, inexplicably, blushes. He momentarily stops stirring the potion to smile shyly at Percival.

“Mr. Scamander,” says Professor Viridian mildly.

Newt jumps, ducks his head and hurriedly resumes stirring his potion.

Percival casts another curious look at Newt over his shoulder as he walks over to Professor Viridian with the stack of essays he’s just finished grading. The Professor takes it from him and flicks through it cursorily.

“Acceptable,” she says with a small nod, and places the stack of essays on the corner of her desk. She steeples her hands, elbows resting on her desk, and regards Percival calmly. “Well, Mr. Graves. Would you care to tell me what the potion Mr. Scamander is making is?”

Percival blinks in surprise, then turns to look over at Newt, and the cauldron. The surface of the potion in the cauldron shimmers, iridescent; it’s a milky silver-white in color, steam rising up from it in gentle spirals. It still smells delicious; Percival smells the fresh scent of grass after the rain, the faint fragrance of the primroses in his mother’s garden and the sweet aroma of ripe apples.

“…oh,” he says. He turns to Professor Viridian, who remains silent. She raises an eyebrow at him.

“ _Amortentia_?” Percival says slowly.

She nods. “As expected of one of Ilvermorny’s top students,” she says cheerfully.

“So, the apples – ” Percival begins, feeling his face grow hot.

“Yes,” says Professor Viridian. Percival scowls at the Professor, who’s smirking faintly at him.

“I hate you,” Percival mutters. Off to one side, Newt gasps in shock, and out of the corner of Percival’s eye, he sees Newt first gape at him, then turn to look at Professor Viridian with a fatalistic look, as if he’s expecting the Professor to take every single last one of Gryffindor’s House points.

Professor Viridian just ignores Percival, shuffling through the stack of parchment in front of her. She separates a number of them into a smaller stack, then hands it to Percival.

“You can grade these next,” she says. Percival looks at the parchment in his hands.

“Essays on boil cures?” He makes a face, then holds his hands up in surrender as Professor Viridian raises an eyebrow at him. “Right, okay, I’m going.”

“Take Mr. Scamander with you,” says the Professor. Newt looks up at the mention of his name, a startled expression on his face.

“Er, ma’am,” he says, “the potion’s not quite done…”

“If you enjoy detentions so much that you would like yours extended by another hour, Mr. Scamander, I am happy to do so,” says Professor Viridian.

Newt hurriedly puts the ladle that he was stirring the cauldron with down, gathering up his things. Percival grins wryly at him as both boys hurry out of Viridian’s office. As Percival turns to close the door behind him, he sees Professor Viridian stand up and sweep over to the cauldron, presumably to finish Newt’s work.

“Why were you in detention?” he asks Newt as the two of them head up the stairs.

“Oh,” Newt says sheepishly. “Magpie escaped during Potions, and I upset my cauldron trying to catch him.”

“Your pet Niffler? Why in Merlin’s name did you bring him to _class_?”

“I didn’t!” Newt says indignantly. “He snuck into my bag.”

“That sounds like him,” says Percival, starting to laugh. “Honestly, I still have no idea how you even managed to get _permission_ to bring a Niffler to Hogwarts as a pet.”

Newt shoots Percival a sidelong glance, a pink flush on his cheeks. “So…” he begins. “In Professor Viridian’s office. You, um, smelled apples?”

Percival stops laughing abruptly, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks, but decides there’s really no point in denying it.

“Yes,” he admits, not meeting Newt’s eyes. He’s rather curious what Newt smelled, but manages to stop himself from asking – it’s such a personal thing, after all, and he’s perfectly aware that Newt, reserved as he is, would never have brought it up if Percival hadn’t blithely gone and announced that the entire room smelled like Newt’s shampoo when he’d walked into Viridian’s office.

“I smelled chocolate, and something earthy, like fresh soil,” Newt volunteers. “And, um.” He pauses, then mumbles something inaudible.

“Sorry, what?” Percival asks.

Newt shoots a quick glance at him, then looks back down at the floor. “The third thing I smelled,” he repeats softly, looking as if he’s wishing he hadn’t brought it up at all, “was your aftershave.”

Percival blinks.

It doesn’t mean anything, he tells himself; he’s by far not the only one in the world who uses this brand of aftershave. However, a glance at Newt’s pink cheeks makes it seem like it does mean something to _Newt_ , at least. Percival bites his lip hard, trying and failing to fight back a blush. Both boys, flushed and embarrassed, climb the stairs in silence. Impulsively, Percival reaches out to give Newt’s hand a quick squeeze. Newt darts a quick, shy smile over at Percival.

“So, er, Magpie,” says Percival, trying to sound nonchalant. “He didn’t steal anything while he was loose, did he?”

Newt shoots Percival a grateful look. “Um, not that I know of,” he says. “Although I’d better check, just to be sure.” He gestures to the stairs leading to the Gryffindor dormitory, and says a little hesitantly, “I’m going to pick him up from Theseus now, so I’ll be going to Gryffindor Tower with you.”

“Sounds good,” Percival says, and lets Newt precede him up the stairs.

Theseus is waiting outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, Magpie the Niffler cradled in one arm. He beams when he sees Percival and Newt approaching.

“Hey, little brother,” Theseus says, slinging his free arm around Newt’s shoulders. He turns to Percival, smiling. “Hey, Percy. Handed those essays over to Professor Viridian?”

“And got more essays to grade from her,” Percival grumbles. Newt gives his brother a quick hug, then takes his Niffler from Theseus.

“Hi, Magpie,” Percival says, scratching the wiry fur on the Niffler’s head. It tilts its head up, looking blissful as he pets it. Theseus and Newt look on in amusement.

All three boys stiffen as they hear footsteps approaching from the next corridor.

Theseus makes a face and looks at Newt. “I don’t suppose you have a pass for being out after hours?”

“No,” Newt says. “I don’t think Professor Viridian _ever_ gives out passes.”

“I didn’t get one, either,” Percival says.

Theseus stares at Newt in exasperation. He crosses his arms. “Well, you’d better run, then, hadn’t you?”

Newt grins. “I guess so,” he says.

“Newt,” says Percival.

When Newt turns to him inquiringly, he leans in, hand on Newt’s arm, to press a quick kiss to Newt’s cheek, ignoring Theseus’s surprised squawk. When he releases Newt, Newt is blushing beet red, a bright smile on his lips.

“Good night, Percival,” he says shyly. He grins at his brother. “’Night, Thes.”

As Newt dashes off, Theseus turns to Percival and drags him back into the Gryffindor common room, grinning from ear to ear.

“Something you want to tell me, Percy?” He pokes at Percival’s face. “You’re _blushing_.”

“Am not,” grumbles Percival, fending Theseus off, but ducks his head with a sheepish smile as the portrait swings shut behind them.

 

 

End.

 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. There’s no canon information that I’ve found about who was Potions Professor during Newt’s time at Hogwarts. The Potions Professor I’ve used here is a descendant of Vindictus Viridian, a former Headmaster of Hogwarts.
> 
> 2\. _Amortentia_ is a Sixth/Seventh Year potion. Newt's slightly younger than that here (he's a few years younger than Percival) but is working on the potion as the Professor only had him do it partway and is finishing the process up herself.


End file.
